


Great Expectations

by asexual-fandom-queen (writeordietrying)



Series: ColdWestAllen Week 2016 [2]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: F/M, M/M, Polyamory, Pregnancy, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-14
Updated: 2016-11-14
Packaged: 2018-08-31 00:15:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,895
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8555224
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writeordietrying/pseuds/asexual-fandom-queen
Summary: Barry, Len, and Iris go for their first ultrasound. Written for Day 2 of ColdWestAllen Week 2016: Kid Fic





	

**Author's Note:**

> It's just fluff. That's all it is. Because the world needs more fluff sometimes. 
> 
> If you like it, don't forget to comment and leave kudos. I really appreciate it!

“Barry, would you stop pacing, please?”

Barry’s anxious steps falter at Iris’ heavy sigh. The air around him smells sharp like antiseptic, and he twitches his nose against the sting.

“Sorry,” Barry mutters, throwing his partners a sheepish smile over his shoulder.

Iris sits on the reclining table, feet hovering above the floor, back settled against the shiny surface of the antimicrobial mattress cover. She purses her lips and glares at Barry, impatient and unimpressed. Len sits beside her, one booted foot perched on the seat of his chair, torso bent, curled into a amorphous tangle of spindly limbs in a way that’s almost feline. The smirk he offers Barry is more teasing, accompanied by a raised eyebrow.

Barry flushes. He turns back to the bookshelf to his left and looks for a different, less annoying distraction. He reads the spines of the books first, head tilting to follow the direction of the letters, but it’s hardly captivating and soon, Barry grows tired of it.

Set on one shelf is a small, anatomical model, and that piques Barry’s interest next. He picks it up gently and turns it over in his hands, considering. Unfortunately, as he does, one of Barry’s fingers hooks under a small divot in the model and send an ovary flying loose, clattering to the floor.

Iris sighs even louder this time. “Barry,” she reprimands.

Barry winces as we watches the small, plastic ovary roll across the floor. In less than a heartbeat, Barry flashes after the runaway gonad and brings it back to the model, reattaching it and settling the entire structure back on the shelf where it belongs.

Just as Barry returns to normal speed, the door handle turns and a young female doctor steps into the room, white coat billowing out around her, patient chart clasped in one hand. She smiles at them pleasantly as she closes the door, and Barry steps away from the bookshelf to join Iris on her other side.

“We must be The Allens,” the doctor says, her voice chipper and sweet and clearly no stranger to the royal we.  

“Barry,” Barry greets, extending a friendly hand before taking his seat.

“Iris,” Iris adds, taking her turn to shake.

Len leans forward, meeting the doctor halfway. “Leonard,” he says, settling himself back into a more normal seated position.

“It’s nice to meet you all,” she replies. “I’m Dr. Moyer. I’ll be working with your GP from here on out.”

Dr. Moyer fixes her attention and her million watt smile onto Iris. “How are we feeling, Mrs. Allen?”

Iris chuckles. “Iris is fine,” she says. “And a lot like I have to pee. Though I guess I should be getting used to that, right?”

“Right you are,” Dr. Moyer replies. “Any heartburn? Constipation? Fatigue?”

“Nothing too bad,” Iris says. “I’ve been pretty lucky.”

Dr. Moyer jots the answers down on her char. “How about nausea and vomiting?” she asks next.  

Len snorts. It shouldn’t come across graceful, but it does. “Oh, yeah,” he replies. “She’s got that one in spades.”

“Okay,” Barry interjects. “But also, I watched her eat bread and butter pickles with hot fudge sauce and strawberry ice cream and I think that’s just basic biology. Anyone’s body would reject that.”

Dr. Moyer smiles like she’s the scoop on some inside ever. “Some nausea is to be expected,” she confirms. “And some pretty whacky cravings. If you notice it really getting you down, I’d advise you to go see your GP, but otherwise, it’s nothing to worry about.”

Putting down her chart, Dr. Moyer wheels a machine with a large monitor up next to Iris’ feet. “Alrighty,” she says. “On to the part I’m sure you’re all most excited about.”

Barry shuffles nervously in his seat and chews at the inside of his lips. Iris looks over at him and beams, and Barry can’t control the immediacy of his answering smile. They revel in the fear and the excitement for a moment, then both turn at once to look at Len like they’ve read each other’s minds. Len’s smile is small, trepidatious, but excited too. He raises a hand to run through Iris’ hair, the many rings on his long, delicate fingers glinting as they catch the fluorescent lights overhead.

“If I could just get you to lift your top up for me, hon,” Dr. Moyer prompts as she slides her hands into a pair of medical gloves. Iris quickly complies, rucking her shirt up, and sliding her pants lower on her hips for good measure, too.

The bump in Iris’ belly is slight, still able to hide under thick knits and flowy shirts, but with the extra layers of fabric pulled away, it’s easy to see. It still blows Barry’s mind, that this real, that it’s really happening. He and Len and Iris haven’t told anyone yet, though he’s fairly certain Joe’s worked it out just fine on his own if the dopey, awestruck way he keeps looking at Iris is anything to go by.

“First time parents?” Dr. Moyer asks, pulling Barry from his thoughts, as she fiddles with the ultrasound machine. He notices the careful way she’s avoided pronouns, trying to suss out the situation without asking directly. It doesn’t bother Barry that she wants to know, first and foremost because she’s their doctor, but also because he loves is partners and wants to share that with the world, always.

“All of us, yes,” Iris answers, beating Barry to the punch. “My partners and I are pretty excited.”

If their relationship status takes Dr. Moyer aback, she hides it well. “Are you looking to test for paternity?” she asks.

Barry, Iris, and Len share a long, meaningful look. It’s something they’ve talked about at length since they decided to start trying.

“We’d rather not,” Barry says at last. “Unless there’s some medical reason we should.”

Dr. Moyer tilts her head, considering. “Well,” she says. “Not necessarily. We can talk more about your family histories and specific risk factors later if there’s something you’re especially concerned about. But later. Right now, I’m sure there’s a certain someone you’re all just dying to see.”

Turning back to the ultrasound cart, Dr. Moyer grabs two small, white cloths and turns back to Iris. She tucks one under the waistband of her pants and the other under the bottom hem of her shirt. Then, Dr. Moyer grabs a small bottle of ultrasound gel and shakes it.

“This is going to feel cold,” she warns before squeezing a generous blob out onto Iris’ stomach. Barry sees Iris shiver, sees the gooseflesh cover her skin, and he chuckles softly.

“Thought you’d be a pro at handling a little cold by now,” Len teases, and Iris laughs at the inside joke.

Dr. Moyer grabs the wand in her right hand. “You ready?” she asks.

Iris beams. “So ready,” she replies.

As Dr. Moyer brings the wand down and moves it across Iris’ stomach, Barry feels his insides knot with pure, unbridled anxiety. He’s so keyed up he nearly starts vibrating outside of his control something he hasn’t done in years.

Glancing over at Iris and Len, Barry can see they’re both apprehensive, too. Between the three of them, Joe is about the only solid example of a strong parental figure in any of their lives. Barry’s memories of his parents before the incident are fuzzy, and from then on, he only saw his father when he visited him in prison. Iris’ mother was a drug addict whose habit traumatized Iris enough that she blocked out entire portions of her childhood. And Len, his father beats them all, the scars he left not just on Len’s heart and mind, but his body as well, deep, angry, and unshakable.

Maybe’s crazy of them to want to be parents at all, and certainly with each other. But they love each other, more than Barry’s ever known love from anywhere else in his life. He thinks Len and Iris feel the same way. And that’s why they’re doing this, together.

“There it is,” Dr. Moyer announces. Barry shifts his attention to the grainy image on screen where he can just make out the outline of a tiny, formless body and the rounded crown of a head. “There’s your baby.”

Barry’s breath leaves him in a rush, and suddenly, all the nervous energy is gone. “That’s our baby,” he repeats, eyes wet with tears. Iris squeezes his hand, and it feels nice.  

“Oh, hold on, wait,” Dr. Moyer interrupts.

Barry’s heart leaps into his throat.

“What?” Iris asks. “What is it? Is something wrong?”

Len takes her hand in his and brings it to his lips, brushing against her knuckles reassuringly.

“No,” Dr. Moyer says quickly. “Everything’s fine. It’s just…”

Barry swallows hard, still not convinced. “Just what?” he asks.

Dr. Moyer smiles. “How would you feel about having two babies?” she asks, and then she moves the wand again, and Barry can really see it now, too.

“Twins?” Len asks, his voice thin and tight, like he’s afraid she’s going to take this from him.

“Congratulations,” Dr. Moyer confirms.

She’s got them both on screen now. Barry watches them, enamoured, wriggling together, a thick line dividing them. One baby sticks up a tiny hand, and suddenly Barry’s crying. Not small tears either. Big tears, fat and ugly.

“Oh, honey,” Iris sighs. She’s got tears streaking her own cheeks, too, but nothing compared to Barry. Barry is a mess.

“I’m sorry,” he blubbers. “I don’t know why I’m crying so much. They’re happy tears, I promise.”

Len reaches out over Iris’ head to take Barry’s hand. He moves his thumb in broad strokes across Barry’s fingers and looks him in the eye. Len doesn’t have to say anything. For all that he’s the master of sarcasm and snark, he never does for Barry to know what he’s thinking.

“Do you want to know the sex?” Dr. Moyer asks.

“No thanks, Doc,” Len replies.

Dr. Moyer nods. “Traditionalists?” she asks.

Iris scoffs and rolls her eyes. “The opposite, actually,” she says. “Len doesn’t want any preconceived notions of gender to factor into how we shop for the baby - or babies now, I guess.”

“What can I say?” Len drawls with a slow, easy shrug. “I’m a modern guy.”

While his partners are speaking with ease, Barry’s still crying. Len pulls a package of tissues from his pocket and passes them over. “Figured you’d get weepy,” he explains.

“Are they okay?” Iris asks. “Are they healthy?”

“So far, everything looks normal,” Dr. Moyer confirms. “Let’s take a listen to their heartbeats, okay?”

And then Barry hears it, the most beautiful sound in the world. A heartbeat. He immediately starts sobbing again, but he feels vindicated this time as Iris is crying too. Even Len’s eyes are damp, which is a hard thing to muster.

Iris pulls Barry down into a kiss, then does the same for Len, overjoyed. Barry rises from his chair enough to lean comfortably over Iris so he can kiss Len as well. Both kisses taste of nothing but salt to Barry, but he’s not complaining. If this is the best sound he’s ever heard, then theses are the best kisses he’s ever had.

Dr. Moyer smiles. “I can tell you three are gonna make great parents,” she says.

Barry can too.

**Author's Note:**

> Come say hi on [tumblr](http://asexual-fandom-queen.tumblr.com/).


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